Coal waste pollution is far worse than EPA claims

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has severely underreported the severity of coal ash waste pollution and its threat to human and environmental health throughout the United States, a new independent study released February 24 by the Environmental Integrity Project (EIP) and Earthjustice says.

The EPA’s tally of coal ash contamination locations last year did not include an additional 31 sites that should have been included in the totals, stated the study, entitled “Out of Control: Mounting Damages From Coast Ash Waste Sites.”

Annually, coal-fired power plants in the US produce approximately 140 million tons of fly ash, scrubber sludge and additional combustion waste from the burning of the fossil fuel. This coal ash, which contains numerous toxins like arsenic and lead, is contaminating groundwater, drinking supplies and wetlands in dozens of states.

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